So far as I can tell, here are most of the various schools of thought for D&D and how I weigh in on them. Feel free to add more schools of thought if I missed any. Don't add any other options to each one though, as it wouldn't be fair to people who already posted responses.
Copy/paste the various schools of thought and change text color to let us know where you stand. Mine preferences are in green.
I know that there is going to be a lot of "Well, I like both this and that, sometimes it depends on XYZ, my group does one thing but I would prefer another, " etc.
I want your preference. Not what you do, not what you wish you could do, not what you used to do, not what you do with one group and not the other, not what you do depending on your mood, or the phases of the moon.
If you had to pick one, just one, only one, and one only, that you had to do for the rest of your life, regardless of all other factors that might make you wishy-washy about actually making a decision and picking only one, what would it be? No such thing as "E. all of the above" in this one.
Schools of Thought:
High magic (FR) V. Medium Magic (GH, 1e) V. Low magic (Conan) settings
Home made settings V. Give me a base setting I’ll do the rest (1e Greyhawk) V. Give me a detailed setting and keep detailing it (2e FR).
Settings growing alongside novels (FR novels being the prime example here of togetherness) V. Settings and novels being separate.
Low level games (1-10) V. Mid level games (10-20) V. High level games (20-30+) are my favorite
Detailed combat rules for combat moves, attacks and actions (anything other than swinging a weapon giving specific mathematical bonuses or penalties, for ex. -2 terrain, +4 blinded +2 full attack, -2 concealed, etc.) V. Let the DM wing combat moves, attacks and actions (giving it his own bonus or detriment based on a quick gut check)
Multiple worlds and settings to adventure in V. I only really need and use one.
Narrative critical (it bashed the side of your head, blood is your left eye making it difficult to see and you’re a bit dizzy) V. Criticals which give some mathematical detriment (it hit your arm, you’re now -2 to attack with your primary weapon)
Wizards at high levels ARE AND OUGHT TO BE feared V. Wizards at high level are completely unbalanced. Nerf, Nerf, Nerf them to death.
Tabletop grid and dry erase V. No grid
Miniatures V. No miniatures V. Miniatures only or the complicated stuff.
Tiles V. No tiles
3d structures on the gaming table (things like mountains, hills, trees, etc. ) V. No structures
Modules V. I’ll make up my own stinkin’ adventures
Adventure paths V. standalone modules V. Didn't you see what I said above? I’ll make up my own stinkin’ adventures
Lots of Houserules V. Moderate houserules V. We may tinker here and there, but we play it mostly by the book.
Magic item stores V. No magic item stores.
Roll play V. Role play
PDF magazines V. Paper
PDF core rules V. Paper
PDF modules V Paper
PDF supplements v. Paper
Laptop for the DM at the gaming table v. Pen and paper
Laptop for players at the gaming table v. Pen and paper
Mood music while playing v. None
Sound effects while playing v. None
Boxed sets V. Hardcover books
Gygaxian V. Non-Gygaxian
Non-weapon proficiencies V. Skills V. Just wing it, do a Dex check or something
Kits V. Prestige classes V. Neither
Core classes V. Kits and/or prestige classes
Feats V. No feats
Class based system V. No classes, just a character with various skills, abilities, and attributes.
Feats V. Book of Nine Swords-style progression trees V. I already said no feats
Classed monsters with skills, feats, etc. V. Non-classed monsters, they just have special abilities.
Detailed world politics and economies V. Who gives a crap, lemme go kill something and take its stuff.
Rolling for social interaction results V. Roleplaying all of them out, the results are what you personally glean from it.
Describing exactly how you are searching V. Rolling a d20 for search results
DM Rulings V. Rules
Player skill V. Character abilities
Heroic V. Superhero
Game balanced encounters V. The world’s a dangerous place, your 3rd level wizard might open that door and out pops Orcus.
Save or die, life’s a bittch V. Hey, not fair, I invested a lot of time in that 15th level guy and he shouldn’t die because of one bad roll.
Classes balanced against each other per level V. Every class has its place, and some are more powerful than others at certain things, or at a lot of things.
Rogues being able to sneak attack/backstab in combat because of flanking V. He’s a thief, he doesn’t belong in combat, shoot an arrow from far away if you want to be in combat.
Every character being able to do something every round of combat V. Sometimes you just gotta hang back and let the meat shields or fireball howitzers do their thing.
Combat-centric/focused/driven V. Roleplay/intrigue/politics/economics –centered/focused/driven
Every combat encounter should be somewhat of a challenge V. Sometimes, your epic level characters kick down a door and it’s just a mouse in there, eating some cheese, and that’s ok, because the world is made up mostly of those kinds of encounters. That's not to say we still won't fireball it and take its now melted cheese...
We use CR V. We don’t use CR.
XP should be gained for the GP value of treasure looted V. Nope, just for the kill.
We use an XP system V. The DM just gives it out once in a while as he decides he wants us to progress in levels.
10d6 caps to 3rd level damage spells V. My 30th level wizard’s fireball can, like that meteor from 600 million years ago, cause the next ice age.
Characters take their place on the battlefield leading troops in battle V. The battle happens while we do things only a PC group can do which helps determine the overall battle’s outcome.
My favorite setting of all time is: (fill in the blank) Greyhawk, After the Ashes.
I debated whether or not to put this last one in because of its chances of leading to an edition war, but I figured it would be interesting to know the edition you prefer, after we know all your other main gaming preferences. Lets try it and please keep it civil, no edition war crap.
Chanmail V OD&D V. Holmes D&D V. AD&D V. Moldvay B/E/C/M D&D V. Rules Cyclopedia D&D V. Second Edition V. Thrd Edition 3.0 V. Revised Third Edition 3.5 V. Fourth Edition V. Castles and Crusades V. Savage Worlds V. OSRIC V. True20 V. Mutands and Masterminds V. Pathfinder V. Basic RPG V. Gurps V. Hackmaster V. Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed/Evolved V. Rolemaster
ADDED ONE QUESTION HERE:
Define in one PARAGRAPH what Hit Points represent in your gaming world.
A combination of a level of damage dealt to the body and ability to avoid that damage. The more HP a character has the better he is at making what would have been a death dealing blow, less than death dealing. He twists, turns, contorts, and defends in a learned skillful way, so that even if he takes damage, he minimizes the amount he takes. Zero = unconscious, -10 = death, full = perfect health.
Looking forward to reading your responses. Especially since it took me like 2 hours of thought and typing to get this thing posted.
Copy/paste the various schools of thought and change text color to let us know where you stand. Mine preferences are in green.
I know that there is going to be a lot of "Well, I like both this and that, sometimes it depends on XYZ, my group does one thing but I would prefer another, " etc.
I want your preference. Not what you do, not what you wish you could do, not what you used to do, not what you do with one group and not the other, not what you do depending on your mood, or the phases of the moon.
If you had to pick one, just one, only one, and one only, that you had to do for the rest of your life, regardless of all other factors that might make you wishy-washy about actually making a decision and picking only one, what would it be? No such thing as "E. all of the above" in this one.
Schools of Thought:
High magic (FR) V. Medium Magic (GH, 1e) V. Low magic (Conan) settings
Home made settings V. Give me a base setting I’ll do the rest (1e Greyhawk) V. Give me a detailed setting and keep detailing it (2e FR).
Settings growing alongside novels (FR novels being the prime example here of togetherness) V. Settings and novels being separate.
Low level games (1-10) V. Mid level games (10-20) V. High level games (20-30+) are my favorite
Detailed combat rules for combat moves, attacks and actions (anything other than swinging a weapon giving specific mathematical bonuses or penalties, for ex. -2 terrain, +4 blinded +2 full attack, -2 concealed, etc.) V. Let the DM wing combat moves, attacks and actions (giving it his own bonus or detriment based on a quick gut check)
Multiple worlds and settings to adventure in V. I only really need and use one.
Narrative critical (it bashed the side of your head, blood is your left eye making it difficult to see and you’re a bit dizzy) V. Criticals which give some mathematical detriment (it hit your arm, you’re now -2 to attack with your primary weapon)
Wizards at high levels ARE AND OUGHT TO BE feared V. Wizards at high level are completely unbalanced. Nerf, Nerf, Nerf them to death.
Tabletop grid and dry erase V. No grid
Miniatures V. No miniatures V. Miniatures only or the complicated stuff.
Tiles V. No tiles
3d structures on the gaming table (things like mountains, hills, trees, etc. ) V. No structures
Modules V. I’ll make up my own stinkin’ adventures
Adventure paths V. standalone modules V. Didn't you see what I said above? I’ll make up my own stinkin’ adventures
Lots of Houserules V. Moderate houserules V. We may tinker here and there, but we play it mostly by the book.
Magic item stores V. No magic item stores.
Roll play V. Role play
PDF magazines V. Paper
PDF core rules V. Paper
PDF modules V Paper
PDF supplements v. Paper
Laptop for the DM at the gaming table v. Pen and paper
Laptop for players at the gaming table v. Pen and paper
Mood music while playing v. None
Sound effects while playing v. None
Boxed sets V. Hardcover books
Gygaxian V. Non-Gygaxian
Non-weapon proficiencies V. Skills V. Just wing it, do a Dex check or something
Kits V. Prestige classes V. Neither
Core classes V. Kits and/or prestige classes
Feats V. No feats
Class based system V. No classes, just a character with various skills, abilities, and attributes.
Feats V. Book of Nine Swords-style progression trees V. I already said no feats
Classed monsters with skills, feats, etc. V. Non-classed monsters, they just have special abilities.
Detailed world politics and economies V. Who gives a crap, lemme go kill something and take its stuff.
Rolling for social interaction results V. Roleplaying all of them out, the results are what you personally glean from it.
Describing exactly how you are searching V. Rolling a d20 for search results
DM Rulings V. Rules
Player skill V. Character abilities
Heroic V. Superhero
Game balanced encounters V. The world’s a dangerous place, your 3rd level wizard might open that door and out pops Orcus.
Save or die, life’s a bittch V. Hey, not fair, I invested a lot of time in that 15th level guy and he shouldn’t die because of one bad roll.
Classes balanced against each other per level V. Every class has its place, and some are more powerful than others at certain things, or at a lot of things.
Rogues being able to sneak attack/backstab in combat because of flanking V. He’s a thief, he doesn’t belong in combat, shoot an arrow from far away if you want to be in combat.
Every character being able to do something every round of combat V. Sometimes you just gotta hang back and let the meat shields or fireball howitzers do their thing.
Combat-centric/focused/driven V. Roleplay/intrigue/politics/economics –centered/focused/driven
Every combat encounter should be somewhat of a challenge V. Sometimes, your epic level characters kick down a door and it’s just a mouse in there, eating some cheese, and that’s ok, because the world is made up mostly of those kinds of encounters. That's not to say we still won't fireball it and take its now melted cheese...
We use CR V. We don’t use CR.
XP should be gained for the GP value of treasure looted V. Nope, just for the kill.
We use an XP system V. The DM just gives it out once in a while as he decides he wants us to progress in levels.
10d6 caps to 3rd level damage spells V. My 30th level wizard’s fireball can, like that meteor from 600 million years ago, cause the next ice age.
Characters take their place on the battlefield leading troops in battle V. The battle happens while we do things only a PC group can do which helps determine the overall battle’s outcome.
My favorite setting of all time is: (fill in the blank) Greyhawk, After the Ashes.
I debated whether or not to put this last one in because of its chances of leading to an edition war, but I figured it would be interesting to know the edition you prefer, after we know all your other main gaming preferences. Lets try it and please keep it civil, no edition war crap.
Chanmail V OD&D V. Holmes D&D V. AD&D V. Moldvay B/E/C/M D&D V. Rules Cyclopedia D&D V. Second Edition V. Thrd Edition 3.0 V. Revised Third Edition 3.5 V. Fourth Edition V. Castles and Crusades V. Savage Worlds V. OSRIC V. True20 V. Mutands and Masterminds V. Pathfinder V. Basic RPG V. Gurps V. Hackmaster V. Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed/Evolved V. Rolemaster
ADDED ONE QUESTION HERE:
Define in one PARAGRAPH what Hit Points represent in your gaming world.
A combination of a level of damage dealt to the body and ability to avoid that damage. The more HP a character has the better he is at making what would have been a death dealing blow, less than death dealing. He twists, turns, contorts, and defends in a learned skillful way, so that even if he takes damage, he minimizes the amount he takes. Zero = unconscious, -10 = death, full = perfect health.
Looking forward to reading your responses. Especially since it took me like 2 hours of thought and typing to get this thing posted.
Last edited:
It was fun though.
